Paris is in ruins, with mankind no longer a factor in its existence. While this means that it is probably less expensive and the traffic moves a bit quicker, it also means that a small robot call Leo (L3.0) has been left on his own, despite his programming making him exist for the purpose of companionship. He sets out into the city to try to find a companion.
This short film does seem to be mostly about the way that it has delivered in terms of technology, but there is just about enough to it to make the viewer look beyond this. The arresting shots of an empty Paris are a good start, and we have a sharply animated little robot who looks cute but is also alone – triggering the Wall-E empathy before it actually does anything. From here the film leaves us wondering about the bigger picture but instead looks to Leo in particular, seeing him silently struggling with his programming in this new reality. At only a few minutes long it is not too much before we are at the end. The ending could be taken two ways – although one is less likely than the other. I chose to take the pain of the character from the final images – and as such I ended the film with a dark sense of loss that was an odd feeling to have, but one that worked in the film.
It is not wholly successful, and there is scope for more heart and pain in there on the way to that ending, however technically it is well made, and I appreciated that it presented itself as quite cute and sweet, while also delivering a darker content (which frankly fits the end of the world much better than the cute aspect would have done).